Today's Reading:O.T. - Isaiah 58 - 60
N.T. - Matthew 25:31-46
Focus Verses: Isaiah 58:6-7, 9-10
6 "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? 7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
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9 Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. "If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, 10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.
Insight:
True worship and reverence for God requires attention to issues of social justice. God cares about the poor, he hears the cries of the oppressed, and he expects those who truly honor him to care about these issues and the people affected by them. It's true that the gospel of Christ is more than food, shelter, clothing, and freedom from oppression and systemic poverty and bigotry. It is impossible, however, for those who are truly following Jesus and being transformed by the Spirit, to ignore these overwhelming needs.
God calls his people to "spend themselves" on behalf of those who are in poverty. Fasting should be more than a religious exercise of restraint and self-denial. The spirit of fasting is lived out every time we do without something in order to provide for the needs of others.
Response and Action:
I must never turn a blind eye to the needs of others. To claim to honor God while ignoring the needs of the poor and hungry is offensive to God. To claim to love God who is unseen while turning a blind eye to poverty, disease, war, and suffering is hypocritical. I must give generously. I must share what God has given me with those in need. I should work, vote, influence, and pray for people to be delivered from oppression and suffering.
O God, help me to see Jesus in the faces of those who are in need. Give me a soft heart and a generous spirit. Show me ways that I can share and help. Deliver me from greed and self-indulgence. Give me wisdom so that the blessings of life will not become obstacles to true discipleship. Help me to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humble with you. Amen.
Proverbs: 28:27
"He who gives to the poor will lack nothing, but he who closes his eyes to them receives many curses."
Resources:
Just Generosity: A New Vision for Overcoming Poverty in America
by Ronald J. Sider
